Hebrews 2:7

My Notes

What Does Hebrews 2:7 Mean?

"Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands." The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8:5-6 about HUMANITY'S position: made a LITTLE LOWER than the angels, then CROWNED with glory and honor, then SET OVER all creation. The sequence is: lowering, crowning, ruling. The temporary lowering leads to the permanent crowning. The descent produces the authority. The one made lower ends up ruling over everything.

The phrase "a little lower than the angels" (brachy ti par' angelous ēlattōsas auton — you made him for a little while/a little bit lower than angels) contains a DOUBLE MEANING in Greek: brachy ti can mean 'a little bit' (in degree — slightly lower) OR 'for a little while' (in duration — temporarily lower). Both readings apply to JESUS: He was made lower than angels by a SMALL DEGREE (incarnation — becoming human) for a SHORT TIME (the earthly ministry — temporary). The lowering was SLIGHT and BRIEF.

The "crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands" (doxē kai timē estephanōsas auton kai katestēsas auton epi ta erga tōn cheirōn sou — with glory and honor You crowned him and placed him over the works of Your hands) describes the EXALTATION that follows the lowering: the one made lower is CROWNED (royal dignity) and SET OVER (universal authority) everything God's hands made. The crown replaces the lowering. The authority follows the humiliation.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What lowering in your life is producing eventual crowning?
• 2.What does 'a little lower' (slight and temporary) teach about the nature of Christ's humiliation?
• 3.How does the sequence — lowering THEN crowning THEN ruling — describe the path to authority?
• 4.What does being set over 'the works of thy hands' (all creation) teach about the scope of the exaltation?

Devotional

Made a LITTLE lower than the angels. Then CROWNED with glory and honor. Then set OVER everything God made. The sequence is: down briefly, up permanently. The lowering produces the crowning. The descent earns the authority. The one who went lower than the angels ends up ruling over all creation.

The 'a little lower than the angels' has a DOUBLE meaning: a little bit (slightly lower — the humanity was close to angelic status) AND for a little while (temporarily lower — the lowering was brief). BOTH meanings apply to Jesus: He became SLIGHTLY lower than angels (He took human nature, which is slightly below angelic nature). He became TEMPORARILY lower (the incarnation lasted a lifetime, not eternity). The lowering was small in degree and short in duration.

The 'crowned with glory and honour' is the EXALTATION that follows: the crown is GLORY (doxa — the visible splendor, the radiant magnificence) AND HONOR (timē — the value, the worth, the weight of dignity). The crowning isn't one thing. It's TWO — glory AND honor. The one who was lowered receives BOTH the visible splendor and the intrinsic worth. The crown that replaces the lowering is a DOUBLE crown.

The 'set him over the works of thy hands' makes the authority UNIVERSAL: everything God's hands made — the entire created order — is placed UNDER the crowned one's authority. The one who was BELOW the angels is now ABOVE everything the angels serve. The creation that existed before the lowering is now ruled by the one who was lowered. The descent produced the dominion.

What lowering in your life is God using to produce crowning — what descent is creating authority?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture